Cooperativa IL SOGNO
Viale Regina Margherita, 192 - 00198 ROMA
Tel. +39 06/85.30.17.58 - Fax +39 06/85.30.17.56
Email :service@romeguide.it

San Clemente provides an opportunity to travel back through three layers of history. At street level, there is a 12 th century church; underneath this lies a 4 th century church; and below that are ancient Roman buildings, including a Temple of Mithras (2 nd century). The oldest building is composed by several rooms with a barrel vault, made in a wonderful tuff opus-reticulatum; probably this building was part of the Rome's mint which later was moved to Capitolin arx by Domiziano, as it is written in some Adrian inscriptions found nearby the building.

In the second half of the II century AD a two-storey domus (villa) where the rooms were facing the outside courtyard was built behind the building; in the vault it is still possible to see some stucco decorations. In the III century AD a part of the house was transformed into a mitre, the sanctuary of the Mithras god. For the construction of this, some windows were closed and an altar and a niche for receiving the divinity were created and it was also decorated with a starry vault. All these modifications were made for transforming the place into a grotto following the instruction of the cult. The period of the most splendour of the mitre was between the end of III and the begin of IV century AD; the sanctuary could house a large number of believers setting on the side bench for having the sacred food. It is possible to see on the wall some traces of liberated and brutal destruction joined with the transformation of the sanctuary into a Christian place.

At the end of the IV century AD a basilica divided into a nave by a row of columns was created and it was open in the outside part from some courtyards. Probably this was titulus Clementi, that is a Christian place with the same functions of the actual parish. The necessity of attending Church services led to the establishment of a big meeting-room, which was transformed in the IV century AD into a basilica with an apse at the deep and divided into three naves by a row of columns.

The paleochristianic church was restored in few years before the abandoning and it was frescoed with the histories of the St. Alessio and St. Clements. The studies inside the basilica have recently led to the identification of a paleochristianic baptistery and a fresco with Madonna an her Child.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The basilica of San Clemente is a complex of buildings in Rome centred around a 12th century Roman Catholic church dedicated to Pope Clement I. The site is notable as being an archaeological record of Roman architectural, political and religious history from the early Christian era to the Middle Ages.

History
This ancient church was transformed over the centuries from a private home that was the site of clandestine Christian worship in the 1st century to a grand public basilica by the 6th century, reflecting the emerging Roman Catholic Church's growing legitimacy and power.

Roman buildings
The house was originally owned by Roman consul and martyr Titus Flavius Clemens who was one of the first among the Roman nobility to convert to Christianity. He allowed his house to be used as a secret gathering place for fellow Christians, the religion being outlawed at the time.

There is evidence of pagan worship on the site. In the 2nd century members of a Mithraic cult built a small temple dedicated to Mithras in an insula, or apartment complex, on the site. This temple, used for initiation rituals, lasted until about the 3rd century, by which time Christianity had largely supplanted pagan worship in Rome.

The first basilica
Excavations in the 1860s revealed the forgotten earlier basilica which underlies the medieval one. In the late fourth or early fifth century, after Christianity became the state religion of Rome, the small church underwent expansion, acquiring the adjoining insula and other nearby buildings; Architects began work on the complex of rooms and courtyards, building a central nave over the early church site, and an apse over the former Mithraeum. The new church was dedicated to Pope Clement I, a 1st century Christian convert and a contemporary of Titus Flavius Clemens. Restorations were undertaken in the ninth century and ca 1080-99.

Apart from Santa Maria Antiqua, the largest collection of Early Medieval wall paintings are to be found in the lower basilica of San Clemente. Over the next several centuries, San Clemente became a beacon for church artists and sculptors, benefiting from Imperial largesse. Today, it is considered one of the most richly adorned churches in Rome.

The last major event that took place in the lower basilica was the election in 1099 of Cardinal Rainerius of St Clemente as Pope Paschal II.

The current basilica was rebuilt in one campaign by Cardinal Anastasius, ca 1099 – 1120, after the original church was burned to the ground during the Norman sack of the city under Robert Guiscard in 1084.

Irish Dominicans have been the caretakers of San Clemente since 1667, when Britain outlawed the Irish Catholic Church and expelled the entire clergy. Pope Urban VIII gave them refuge at San Clemente, where they have remained, running a residence for priests studying and teaching in Rome. The Dominicans themselves conducted the excavations in the 1950s in collaboration with Italian archaeology students.

On one wall in the courtyard there is a plaque affixed by Pope Clement XI, who praises San Clemente, declaring, "This ancient church has withstood the ravages of the centuries." Clement undertook restorations to the venerable structure, which he found dilapidated. He selected Carlo Stefano Fontana, nephew of Carlo Fontana as architect, who erected a new facade, completed in 1719. The carved and gilded ceilings of nave and aisles, fitted with paintings, date from this time, as do the frescos.

In one lateral chapel there is a shrine with the tomb of Saint Cyril of the Saints Cyril and Methodius who created the Glagolithic alphabet and christianised the Slavs. The chapel holds a Madonna by Sassoferrato, and it is said that Pope John Paul II used to pray there sometimes for Poland and the Slavic countries.

Current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Clementi is Adrianus Johannes Simonis, the archbishop of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Pope Paschal II (1076-1099) was one of the previous holders of the Titulus.

HOURS

TRANSPORTS

From Porta Cavalleggeri/S. Pietro take the 571 bus and get off at the second stop after the Colosseum and turn into Piazza S. Clemente.

From Piazza Venezia , take either the 85 or 850 bus for five stops and then there is a short walk of fifty metres or so.

Take Metro Line A , the orange line, to Manzioni and take the exit for Viale Manzoni which leads into Via Labicana, from which there is a left turn into Piazza S. Clemente.

Take Metro Line B , the blue line, to the Colosseum and take the exit for Piazza del Colosseo. Leaving the metro station, turn left and head for Via Labicana. At Piazza S. Clemente turn right.

ADDRESS

TICKETS PRICES

FULL EURO 6.00, REDUCED EURO 3.50

GUIDED TOURS ON REQUEST
(see Private Guides)

For informations and reservations:

Cooperativa IL SOGNO
Viale Regina Margherita, 192 - 00198 ROMA
Tel. +39/06.85.30.17.58 - Fax +39/06.85.30.17.56
Email: service@romeguide.it
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